


i'll paint you a clear blue sky

by silverhaechan



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Moving In Together, gyuhao on holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 13:55:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19769596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverhaechan/pseuds/silverhaechan
Summary: "a house by the beach, with my lover"Minghao and Mingyu move to the French Riviera.





	i'll paint you a clear blue sky

**Author's Note:**

> really this is just self indulgent because i’m french and i think minghao and mingyu would love it here. so i had them moving to my favourite place in this country, where i spent all my summers growing up.

_"I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell. I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world." — Madeline Miller, The Song Of Achilles._

  


They moved in on the first day of summer. Minghao had insisted, something about the summer solstice being the perfect day for a new beginning. Especially because the country that would be their home for the next few months celebrated music on that day. Mingyu had agreed easily after his boyfriend promised they would go out to see the festivities in the small village not far from their house. 

Mingyu put down their last box with utter care, some heavy thing Minghao had filled with most of his painting supplies. There are quite a few boxes, but that’s a given with the two of them. Mingyu just hopes the closet is big enough. 

Mingyu walks further into the house. It isn’t big by any means, but that’s never what they were looking for. The main room is spacious enough, combining the kitchen, a small dining area and the living room. The walls are a soothing cream colour. "I can’t let Minghao paint in here." is Mingyu’s first thought. Too hard to clean up, and Minghao tends to lose track of space and time when he paints. It’s ended in enough ruined clothes and permanent stains on the walls.

Mingyu can hear the sound of the waves coming from the bedroom. The view from their master bedroom is the reason they bought the house. It’s a simple room, with light oak floors and white walls. The bed (" _our_ bed", Mingyu corrects himself and starts grinning like the lovesick idiot he is) faces the biggest wall, with a large glass door that makes up the entire wall on its left side. The sound of the waves comes from the ajar window, Minghao behind it.

Mingyu regretted not having his camera on him, because the scene was breathtaking (his boyfriend always was, but he would punch his shoulder if he heard him say that). 

Minghao was standing on the balcony of their new home, staring into the horizon. Water as far as his eyes could see. It was just _so_ much blue. A dark shade of blue, a beautiful contrast against the striking clear blue sky. Minghao thinks about the french way of saying light and dark blue, colours that he learned while researching painting. _Bleue marine et bleu ciel_ , sea blue and sky blue. It never made more sense than it does this very moment. This view is the reason they chose this place and Minghao doesn’t think he can ever get tired of it. 

His boyfriend’s arms hug him from behind as Mingyu rests his chin on his shoulder. They stay like that a little longer, enjoying the view and the sun on their skin. The breeze tastes salty on their lips, courtesy of the Mediterranean sea, a neighbour they would learn to know and love. 

A flock of seagulls passes above their heads, loud in the quiet atmosphere. It’s barely 7 in the morning, no one is on the beach yet. 

"I guess they’re going to be our new alarm." Mingyu chuckles at his boyfriend. They’ve learnt to sleep through worse. 

Minghao lets Mingyu lead him back inside the room, to start unpacking. "Remember you promised we would go out tonight! We have to get starting."

 _Bleue marine et bleu ciel._ Minghao stops in his track, still holding his boyfriend’s hand, and stares at the white wall facing their bed. 

"Don’t you think the wall looks a little naked for _our_ bedroom?" he asks, emphasizing on the our because he knows the effect it will have on his boyfriend.

"What do you have in mind?", Mingyu sighs but it’s all for show, he loves hearing about Minghao’s new ideas and always encourages them. 

"Such a big white wall… don’t you think it would make a great canvas?"

Mingyu can do nothing but stare. This is one of the moments where he thinks he’s gotten _too_ lucky. 

Minghao has always been good at reading him, and he knows just by looking at his face that Mingyu has already given in.

He kisses him, short and charged with excitement. "I love you" he adds, squeezing his boyfriend’s hand still in his. 

"I guess this means i better get started with unpacking by myself?", Mingyu is smiling as he says it. 

"You’re not allowed in the bedroom until I’m done. You know I hate it when you see my unfinished works." Minghao is still staring at the wall.

"I know. You're lucky we can sleep on the couch." 

They each get to their own task. Mingyu doesn't mind unpacking on his own, after so many years living together, he knows where Minghao would want his things. He makes sure to bring a glass of water to his boyfriend every hour or so, because Minghao often forgets to take care of himself while he paints. 

Mingyu can't wait to see what Minghao makes of their new bedroom. He's sure it will be the final touch to make this place the home they've always dreamed of. 

Minghao emerges from their room a few hours later, his hands covered with paint, some on his face too. Mingyu smiles so hard it hurts. 

They have a quick meal, Mingyu talks a lot because he knows Minghao's mind is still with his painting, that he's not very good conversation at the moment. He's always loved how much passion and energy Minghao pours into painting. 

It's a warm day. The first summer day, longest day of the year, and it slowly hits Mingyu that they really did it. They moved away to a new country leaving behind them and for some time everything they know. Minghao has done it before, when he was much younger, chasing his dreams. Today, there's no urgency. It's a new adventure, but not a permanent one. They're only here for a couple of months before they have to go back to Korea. They're planning on keeping the house though, a getaway, a place that is only theirs. And maybe later, once they’re tired of the life they have now, this could be their home forever.

Mingyu is filled with excitement. There's so much to see, and what seems like all the time in the world to see it. 

"Aren't you going to miss home?", people had asked them. It seemed too corny to answer that they'd never considered home to be a place. It's the truth though, and Mingyu knows he could move across the world another 10 times if Minghao asked him.

  


____________

  


In the evening they get ready to head out. Minghao looks radiant, completely in his element despite them not being able to speak a word of french and most of the locals not knowing english. They would figure it out.

Ramatuelle is a lovely village, with narrow paved roads and cute houses. 

Mingyu really likes the style of the houses here, all small and square, in some shade of beige or light orange, with little rectangular or round windows. It's the roofs he likes best, the way all the houses share the same type of tiles making them all fit in a whole, a reddish-to-orange colour that looked very pretty with the sun coming down on it. 

Minghao takes Mingyu's hand in his and his breath catches. He has to remind himself that no one knows them here, that they're allowed. Minghao squeezes his hand and shows him the program they found of the festivities. 

They navigate through the crowd and the maze of narrow streets, stopping here and there to listen to the live bands listed on Minghao's program. 

Mingyu decides he likes the french language. Minghao, always a step ahead of him, always keeping him on the edge of his seat, waiting for more, tells him he wants to get a tattoo in french. Mingyu is overwhelmed with how much love he feels. It happens often, maybe too often. Sometimes Mingyu thinks it's a good thing his body is so tall, because it's already struggling to contain all the love he feels. He doesn't know how a smaller vessel could stand it without bursting on the spot.

Mingyu decides he's never been happier than he is right now, on this warm solstice evening, listening to music in a language he doesn't know, holding his lover's hand. 

  


____________

  


The next morning, they’re awakened by the sunlight coming in through the windows. They slept through the seagulls’ screeching song. 

They stay on their couch for a little longer, enjoying the feeling of not having to rush to get ready for a schedule. 

Mingyu has his arm thrown over Minghao’s torso, their legs tangled. If it wasn’t so warm he would probably be half laying over his lover right now. Minghao smiles at the thought and grabs the hand resting on his stomach. He always found endearing how much Mingyu seeks physical contact. 

"Do you want to go to the beach this morning?", Minghao asks, playing with the fingers in his hands. Mingyu has warm hands. They feel like home when they touch his body.

"I want to. Are you going to paint?" Mingyu is staring at him. He always does when he’s talking to him.

  


It makes Minghao flustered sometimes. Mingyu just stares so much, so unabashedly. He never tries to hide it, the affection in his eyes. It makes his glow, a light so pure Minghao feels like he’s interrupting, catching a glimpse of something he shouldn’t be seeing. Mingyu shines so brightly that Minghao sometimes has to look away.

He used to try to paint Mingyu’s eyes, the light in them. He could never, his representations always a pale copy of the original. He was never satisfied with them, never finished any of them, dozens of half-empty canvasses piling up in the corner of his studio. 

He likes to think that it’s because the brightness in his lover’s eyes is only his to see. 

  


Mingyu is still looking at him patently, waiting. He moved his head from the pillow to Minghao’s chest, and the angle makes it impossible for Minghao to see anything but his eyes. He feels bare, naked, like Mingyu was just reading his thoughts and is doing this on purpose. 

Minghao sometimes gets scared of the effect Mingyu has on him, even more so because Mingyu often doesn’t realize what he’s doing to him. 

Mingyu closes his eyes and hums contentedly as Minghao scares his fingers through his hair. That’s what he always does when he feels like he’s losing control of the situation. His boyfriend is just an oversized puppy, petting his head is his off-button. 

"I’ll probably paint for a while before joining you." he says as Mingyu buries his face further into his chest. He hums in lieu of an answer. 

Minghao knows what is about to happen as soon as he feels his boyfriend’s warm breath on his skin, but he still groans loudly as Mingyu licks his chest. 

Mingyu has the audacity to laugh as Minghao sits up and pushes him back, a fake look of disgust on his face as he grumbles about how much of an animal the other is. 

"Now you’re up!" he says, too bright and chirpy for someone who woke up at 8 on a free day. 

Minghao is mostly grateful for Mingyu’s energetic personality. Only _mostly_ because his boyfriend drags him out of bed too early on the only days he gets to sleep in. 

  


They have a light breakfast, all their windows opened, enjoying the fresh morning breeze. 

Minghao watches fondly as Mingyu gets ready, overflowing with excitement at the perspective of going swimming and napping under the sun. 

"Wear your plain blue swimmers." Minghao commands. More blue, always more blue. 

Mingyu yells "Yes sir!" back to him and Minghao blushes.

The taller emerges from the bathroom a few minutes later, badly applied sunscreen staining his skin. Minghao wonders if he did it on purpose so he would have to touch him. Mingyu sighs happily as Minghao starts gently massaging his shoulders, admirative of his boyfriend’s toned back. Yes, definitively on purpose. 

They share a kiss, or ten, before Mingyu leaves their small house, wearing big sunglasses and bright yellow flip flops. He looks ridiculous and Minghao is in love.

  
  
  


Minghao can see his lover on the beach from the balcony. He tries to be discreet about it, because if Mingyu realizes he’s being watched he would tease him about it for days, maybe even tell the group chat, and Minghao can’t have that. He has a reputation to uphold, thank you very much. 

Mingyu laid down his (blue) beach towel between an old couple and their dog and a family with young kids. There’s more than enough room for Minghao to join him later on if he wants to. After all, the beach is a private one, it may be small but it’s never too crowded. Especially not at 9 in the morning. Minghao knows Mingyu won’t be able to go all morning on his own, he’ll start playing with the dog or the kids at some point. It’s probably why he chose this spot in the first place. 

He sits down on the balcony as Mingyu slowly enters the water, his blue shorts fading into the Mediterranean sea. Sitting like that, his legs swinging in the air, Minghao feels more at peace than he has in years. The morning breeze helps with the warmth of the sun, already high in the sky despite the early hour. It’s not the solstice anymore, but it feels as if this day will go on forever. Minghao could live with that. 

He snaps a few pictures of the beach, Mingyu always in the center in them. Minghao wonders when Mingyu became his muse. He can’t pinpoint an exact moment. 

He sends one to Jun, a quick, wordless update of their holiday. Junhui doesn’t need words to know what Minghao is feeling. The warm colors of the picture and their subject should be more than enough. 

Minghao leaves the window wide open as he paints, and each new stroke of blue seems to create a new wave. He can’t tell if the sound of the ocean comes from outside or from his painting. 

  


____________

  
  


Minghao’s known he wanted to live by the sea way before he met Mingyu. 

He realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Mingyu when they were both 19, and Mingyu had cooked his favorite Chinese meal for him one day he was homesick. He had looked so nervous about messing up his mother’s recipe. "You called my mom for her recipe?" Minghao had asked, choking up with emotions. Mingyu had blushed and said Junhui was to blame for his poor translation if it didn’t taste good. Minghao had loved it. 

The other had fit perfectly in his little house by the beach fantasy. 

  


Mingyu had realised early that he would never like girls, early enough that he never let himself dream of the future like that. He would marry a nice girl and have 2 children. Make his parents proud. Maybe that would be enough (it wouldn’t). 

Minghao had helped. Had opened the door to his own little dream, welcomed Mingyu in. Had let the tall boy pick it up and make it his own, adding new details to Minghao’s perfect picture of the future with every whispered _I love you_.

“Stay.” Mingyu was trying to leave silently, after the first time they slept together. He’s scared of the others seeing them laying together. It only takes one gentle word from Minghao for him to lay back down. - “ _Big windows would be nice for a house by the beach don’t you think?_ ” 

“My parents are going to love you.” Minghao tells him, holding his hand. They’re on a plane to China. His parents know he’s not bringing a _friend_ home. - “ _What kind of dog do you want?_ ”

  


The first time Mingyu tells him _I love you_ in mandarin, Minghao can tell he practiced saying it. He laughs. And then he cries a little. Loving Mingyu is like swimming in the ocean. It’s always there, and he likes feeling the sand under his feet, the salty water around him. Warm hands on his skin. It can be calming, soothing. But, sometimes, the tide and the currents are faster than him. Water fills his mouth, his lungs. It’s his perfume and his smile and his light. Minghao finds that he doesn’t mind going under. 

Minghao loves it when Mingyu tries to speak Chinese with him. Mingyu loves it when Minghao tells him he loves him in Chinese. He knows that even though the words mean the same thing, the emotions behind them are somewhat different. He’d asked one day, if saying "i love you" was easier in Korean. Minghao had told him that it used to be, and then had blushed and lowered his voice explaining that it meant just as much, if not more, now. "It’s the first language i was loved in." he’d said, and Mingyu had wondered how it was possible, to feel as much as he did in that moment. 

  


____________

  
  


When Mingyu comes back, his cheeks and back are red from staying in the sun for too long. He’s smiling really big, white teeth showing, and Minghao can’t help but kiss him. He’s always had a thing for Mingyu’s teeth. 

He can taste the sea on the other’s lips. Mingyu deepens the kiss, but Minghao pulls back after grabbing Mingyu’s hair. "How did you get that much sand in your hair?". Mingyu laughs. "I built a sand castles with kids on the beach and then they asked if they could bury me. I mean i think that’s what they asked." Minghao sighs and tries not to smile too much. He grabs his lover’s hand and walks further into the house. "Come shower with me, you’ll need help getting rid of the sand and I’m covered in paint." Mingyu grins and follows him.

  


____________

  
  


The next day, they’re awakened by the seagulls. 

Tomorrow, Minghao has decided, they’ll go out and visit a nice village a little further on the coast. He saw pictures on Instagram and he really wants to go. Mingyu rolls his eyes at him when he hears the reason, but he’s just as excited at the prospect of visiting and taking pictures. He’s still thinking about the roofs from Ramatuelle. 

  


Today will just be another slow, lazy day. 

Minghao wants to learn to truly enjoy staying in bed for a while after waking up. It’s a little hard when you’re used to hectic schedules.

Mingyu is reminded of their old dorm like this, laying on a sofa bed in their living room, waking up where he can see the kitchen, the rooms merging and losing their defined purpose. He likes it. 

  


Minghao is checking his phone, his back to him. 

On the rare mornings they are allowed to sleep in, Mingyu always wakes up first and stares. He could look at Minghao for hours. 

He lets his fingertips follow down the trail of his lover’s spine, feels him shudder under his touch. Back up. Minghao’s hair has gotten so long. It’s black and silky. Soft. Mingyu always wants to grab it. Often does when no one’s looking. Only when no one is looking, because Minghao doesn’t trust himself to breathe when Mingyu pulls at his hair, and Mingyu knows better than to tease him in public.

Mingyu gently starts playing with his boyfriend’s hair. 

They stay in bed.

  
  


When they finally get up and after sharing a shower, Mingyu insists that they try the seafood restaurant on their beach. “ _Chez Camille_ ”. The old couple he was sitting next to on the beach yesterday recommended it, said it was a family business, that it had been there since before most of the houses were built. At least that’s what Mingyu understood. He’s gotten pretty good at English, but the woman’s strong british accent is very different from what he’s used to hearing when practicing with Jisoo or Hansol. 

They try fish soup, with crispy pieces of bread to dip in and a special reddish sauce that smells strongly of garlic but tastes amazing. The french call it a name Mingyu cannot pronounce. It tastes amazing. 

Behind them on the terrasse of the restaurant sits an older man, sipping on his coffee and reading a newspaper. When Minghao asks for a tea, the man asks them in if they’re new here, tells them everyone knows everyone on this beach because once you start coming, you fall under the spell of the sea and you come back every summer. He starts speaking in mandarin but quickly goes back to english, says he hasn’t spoken it in too long and it feels foreign on his tongue. 

They speak for a while, the man telling them about the beach and it’s surroundings. 

They learn that the reason the seagulls wake up everyone in the mornings is because the restaurant feeds them the leftovers of the fish, to avoid wasting, throw fishbones at them in the air the way you’d throw a stick at a dog. He explains tuesday mornings are the only day the birds aren’t fed because the restaurant is closed on mondays, and somehow the seagulls seem to have figured it out, never wait around like they do on the other days when the man that feeds them is late. 

The man is a photograph, his hair is white from age and there are deep wrinkles around his eyes from a life spent smiling too much.

Mingyu hopes this is what he can be like when he grows old. He thinks that, as long as Minghao stays by his side, he’ll be able to smile just as much as this man has. 

**Author's Note:**

> this doesn’t really have a plot but there are other things i want to write for this story, so i’ll probably make a collection out of it? i’ll see!
> 
> if you read until the end thank you very much and i hope you enjoyed it!!!!
> 
> it would mean the world to me if you left a kudo and a comment!! 
> 
> i’m @ silverhaechan on twitter!


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